For those of you who are accepting of DNA genetic research into the movement of human populations around the globe, we have some limited information into the migration paths our male Matthews ancestors followed over the thousands of years.

I am a participant in National Geographic’s five-year Genographic Project to trace human migrations of various peoples. It involved a swab of DNA tissue from inside my cheek, and then analysis of the Y chromosome and the distinctive marker it carries to identify us over the past many thousands of years.

It’s certainly more complicated than I understand, but here are excerpts from the report of my genetic history. (It applies to all the males in my line, going back as far as can be traced.)

“Your Y-chromosome results identify you as a member of haplogroup 1I (M253).

The genetic markers that define your ancestral history reach back roughly 60,000 years to the first common marker of all non-African men….

Each of us carries DNA that is a combination of genes passed from both our mother and father….The Y chromosome passes directly from father to son, unchanged from generation to generation. (Note: I just had my Y chromosome tested, which shows the Matthews line, not the chromosome from my mother, a Fogarty.)

Unchanged, that is unless a mutation—a random, naturally occurring, usually harmless change—occurs. The mutation, known as a marker, acts as a beacon; it can be mapped through generations because it will be passed down from the man in whom it occurred to his sons, their sons, and every males in his family for thousands of years.”

The analysis shows our earliest ancestor on the Matthews side emerged from Africa roughly 50,000 years ago. At that time they began to colonize the rest of the world.

About 45,000 years ago the genetic marker that represents our Matthews line appears in the Middle East. It shows that some of our ancestors traveled into Central Asia, but some moved north into the Balkans.

They were in the Balkans about 20,000 years ago at the height of the Ice Age and then moved into central Europe.

Roughly 15,000 years ago they migrated to Iberia (Spain/Portugal) to escape from the ice. As the ice receded and northern Europe became more habitable, our ancestors moved to northwestern Europe.

Our “most recent ancestor “ (Note: I don’t know what this means) was born about 20,000 years ago. My report says that it is possible that the Vikings descended from this line, and the Viking raids on the British Isles might explain why our lineage can be found in people living in southern France and along some Celtic populations.

Our genetic markers are found in large numbers in northwest Europe. (Note: presumably Britain and Ireland and nearby.)

The report says that’s where my genetic trail “as we know it today” ends. As more and more people participate in the genetic research, we will learn more about the path our ancestors walked. The research will continue to be updated and published by the National Geographic Society.

I certainly wish we had more current information; maybe our Matthews ancestors’ more recent migration paths will be revealed over the next few years.